The Resolute
by Carol Molliniere
Summary: AU. When the greatest gift from God touches the Earth, nothing will be ever the same again. And even magic takes a back seat to the greatest story of all time.
1. Theotokos

**The Resolute**

 **By: Carol Molliniere**

 **(A/N: Wow, it's been ages since I've stepped back in the Bible fanfiction! Of course, you guys have probably been waiting on this since I put up the teaser. So, here it is! A Bible AU!...Yes, I've probably lost it. Oh well. It's here.)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible of course. I even don't own the general world of this AU; I just made it fit in the story of Jesus Christ. The concept is from a friend, but she's allowed me to take some liberties with it. And as for the Bible verses, I used the New American Bible, but with a few verses tweaked to fit the AU. I can do that, right?...**

* * *

 _Betrothal_ _._

Why did that word keep ringing in her mind?

 _Your daughter is to be betrothed._

The young woman tried not to think of her mother's thoughts when she heard those words.

" _So soon?"_

She should have known it would be a hard thing to grasp for her mother, who had asked the Lord God above again and again for a child. How lucky they were to have her, Miryam, a daughter – even if the people of Nazareth had given her strange looks for being a Default Spiritual.

It was hard to be a person who could read the hearts and minds of other people, including her parents.

Miryam took up a jar from the ground, and set off to the town well. Drawing water would do well to clear her head, as it had always done.

Along the way, she couldn't help but glance at the people around her once again, and she could see what the people around her were feeling. It came as colors on their chests, in her eyes. That man over there: he was upset. A strange reddish-purple blossomed on his breast. The children playing on the street: happy of course, judging by the bright yellow on top of their hearts. The woman walking the same way as her: anxious, as shown by the orange on her chest.

Miryam sighed. She must be anxious too.

 _Betrothal._

 _She was betrothed._

To a Default Mechanical named Yosef. She had heard that he was a carpenter; a job that had begun to grow popular among the Default Mechanicals – those who had the power over materials like timber, rocks, and metals. Not a bad profession, to be honest, but doubt was still forming in her heart.

What would he be like? She had only seen his face thrice or four times in total. Would he be a good man, one who would provide for her and her ( _their_ ) children no matter what? Would he be hardworking?

Would he love her?

Or would he be...

Miryam shook her head. The young woman knew she had to keep herself positive during this time of waiting. Thus, she held her head high as she finally reached the town well.

As young women her age did, she tied one end of a long rope around the neck of the jar, and using the rope, slowly lowered the vase into the well. Miryam watched the jar descend until she heard the familiar splash of water. The jar soon filled itself, and she hummed a pretty little tune to herself as she started to pull the jar back up to her again.

Just as Miryam was almost done pulling the jar up, a bright light shined in her eyes.

 _Is that the sun?_

No, she realized. The sun was behind her.

The young woman looked up, and couldn't believe what she saw.

 _Shining wings, white clothes, bright face..._

The holy air swallowed up her sensitive clairvoyance and left her unable to feel anything else. The rope slipped from Miryam's hands, making the jar fall back down into the well, as well as taking the other end of the rope with it. But at the moment, that did not matter.

 _An angel of the Lord God!_

This angel regarded her with a smile, as if good news were about to be delivered to her. _"Hail, Miryam, daughter of Joachim; full of grace you are!"_ was the greeting. _"The Lord is with you!"_

Quickly, the young woman dropped to her knees, praying in her heart. _How can I live? I have seen the face of the Lord!_ Yet she wondered all the more what this greeting might have meant. She remembered the stories of the Judges of old; of how people before had seen angels and afterwards received messages from God. Was this to be like those other times?

However, the angel held out a hand to lift her up. _"Do not be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God."_ At these words, Miryam dared to look up once more at the angel, and took the angel's hand to be pulled up. She noticed the angel's chest, glowing bright yellow – the brightest yellow she had ever seen.

" _Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,"_ the angel continued, _"and you shall name Him Yeshuah. The child will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David his father. Like a **Resolute** protector He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will never end!"_

"H-h-how..." Miryam finally mustered the courage to speak, "how can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" Even though she was a virgin, she had known since the start of her puberty that a woman needed a man to produce a child. She was only betrothed; the wedding ceremony seemed ages away. So why was the angel telling her this now?

The angel wasted no time in responding. _"The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."_

 _Son of God._

Miryam pondered the term in her head.

 _But isn't there only one God?_

" _And see,"_ the angel continued, making her look back up. _"Your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son, even in her old age; you know how she was called barren, and now she is already six months pregnant; for nothing will be impossible for God!"_

Miryam pursed her lips, and then clasped her hands together in a praying position. Did she believe what the angel had said about her conceiving the Son of God? Moreover, _could_ she?

 _Nothing will be impossible for God._

She felt humbled. Awed, even, at this realization. If her aged cousin Elizabeth could bear a child, how much more could she bear a child as a virgin? And how much more could God have a Son?

 _Nothing will be impossible._

The girl looked up, into the angel's eyes, into the light of the angel's chest, burning bright yellow.

"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord," Miryam declared. "May it be done to me according to your word."

For a second, she thought she could see the angel smile down upon her. Then in a flash of light, the messenger disappeared, leaving her with her thoughts.

Shakily, Miryam got to her feet, her head still spinning with what she had just experienced. _What does this mean?_ _Will anything ever be the same? And if I'm found pregnant, what will I say to my parents? To my husband?_

Doubts filled her head. Miryam leaned on the well for support, and then looked down into it. Though she couldn't see the water below, she knew it was there, just waiting for a vessel to descend into its depths and draw from its bounty.

Yes. She couldn't see what God was doing, but all she had to do was believe in Him.

 _Son of God, huh._ She put a hand on her belly. _What an honor._

(She later had to ask help from someone to get her jar back from the depths of the well, but the welfare of the jar was really the least of her concerns at that point.)


	2. Son of David

**(A/N: New chapter? So soon? It must be a miracle!)**

* * *

It was all so confusing.

Yosef took a small piece of metal from the pile. Normally the amorphous shape of the steel wouldn't bother the skin on his hands, but not today. Today, his mind was on something else.

Miryam...he had never met anything quite like her. She was bright, pure and wise. Especially for her age (though that might have had something to do with her being able to read emotions and thoughts). Her simplicity in heart had always captivated many people in Nazareth the moment they met her.

He gripped the piece of metal tightly, feeling it change under his fingers.

 _So why is she pregnant?_

The steel piece had morphed into a nail, ready to be used. Yosef walked back to his craft, nail in hand. He put its tip to the wood plank – the last nail needed. Then he let go of it. Now the carpenter was free to cross his arms and lose himself in thought.

Who was the father of the child? Did he even know he had impregnated Miryam? _What happened?_

The nail wedged itself through the wood like his thoughts cut deeply through his mind.

 _What do I do now?_

He watched the nail intensely, before running a hand over his face. It had never felt so good to get sweat off his face before.

 _I could tell her parents. Or my parents. Do they know? Does all of Nazareth know?_

 _No._

 _Should everyone know?_

He pursed his lips. His mind was set.

 _I love her too much._

The nail was in. Done.

He made up his mind to divorce her quietly, and wash his hands of the whole affair. Whatever happened to Miryam after this was none of his business –

–and yet there was some part of him that wanted to keep her in his life, to see her smiling face, to hear her calming words.

Yosef took up the table, looked it over, and was satisfied with his work.

 _I can't keep her. Not while she's pregnant with another man's child._

* * *

Yosef went home, tired from his work and from his thoughts. He had decided that he would start planning to divorce her the next morning. This he tried to concentrate on, and not the look that would surely be on Miryam's face when she would no doubt hear about the news.

Would it even matter to her if he separated from her just a few weeks away from their wedding, anyway? She _had_ chosen another man over him.

But she would have no one to take of her once her parents find out. Once the whole town finds out.

She might die anyway.

He fell asleep feeling very bitter.

* * *

" _Yosef..."_

The Mechanical stirred. Was this a dream? The voice didn't sound anything like any other voice he had heard before. Probably a dream.

" _Yosef, son of David."_

Yosef opened his eyes, partly out of curiosity, and gasped.

Standing in front of him was an angel, bright and tall. The only thing brighter than the angel, in fact, was the stairway behind the angel, with more angels of the Lord coming up and down the stairs. And at the top shone the firmament of God – His throne.

Yosef was dizzy with awe. In a corner of his mind he remembered the story he was taught when he was still a boy, of how Jacob dreamed of the "House of God" while on the run from Esau, and wondered if this was it.

" _Yosef, son of David,"_ the angel repeated one more time, and at once Yosef looked to the angel. The heavenly messenger continued, _"Do not be afraid to take Miryam your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her."_

Before Yosef could ask what the angel meant by this, the latter continued, _"She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the prophet:_

 _ **'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,**_

 _ **And they shall name him Emmanuel.'**_

 _This name means **'God is with us'**."_

And all at once, Yosef understood.

* * *

Yosef sat up on his mat, pressing his fingers together over his knees. He contemplated the dream for many minutes, trying to figure out what he should do now.

 _Obviously, that was a dream from God. Like the dreams of the prophets of old._

So that meant...Miryam hadn't rejected him as a husband after all. It just meant that she was waiting for him to accept her as a wife.

And she was just obeying the orders of the Lord.

Then who was he to delay the plans of the Lord?

And who was he to hold his love away from his wife?

Immediately he got up from the mat, and put on his day clothes and cloak, before running out into the night, all the way to the house of Miryam's parents.

By the time he had arrived at Joachim's house, Yosef was exhausted and thirsty, even leaning on the wall of support while trying to catch his breath. But once he had, he walked to the door and knocked.

It was Joachim's wife, Anne, who answered the door. A surprised look appeared on her matronly face when she saw him. "Yosef!" she recognized. "What are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping at home?"

"Sorry, madam," Yosef apologized. "It couldn't wait. I am here to talk with your daughter Miryam."

Anne looked apprehensive, and looked back inside the comfort of her house. The wind softly billowed inside the building, reminding Yosef of the Elemental pin that hung on Anne's bosom. Eventually, footsteps sounded from inside as well, and Anne whispered, "Miryam."

As if on cue, the head of Miryam, daughter of Joachim, appeared from behind the door, asking, "Yes, Mother?"

Anne let the breeze blow towards the Mechanical carpenter, and that was when his betrothed looked up at him with her beautiful eyes. She glanced at him for only a few seconds before she opened the door wider, allowing Yosef to come inside her home.

He came inside, thanking them under his breath, removing his sandals and laying them by the door. The Mechanical cleared his throat for a while before he finally found the words to say.

"Miryam..." he began, "I am here tonight to tell you that, at first, I was going to divorce you because of the present circumstances that surround us."

The young woman's mouth opened, and was about to say something when her betrothed continued, "But it was then, Miryam, that I heard God's voice telling me that everything was going to be fine. He told me that I should not fear the future."

He grabbed Miryam's hands and said earnestly, "So I tell you, Miryam, daughter of Joachim...that I want to marry you. And I want to be your partner until death separates us."

The Spiritual looked as if she was on the verge of tears, and lowered her head.

"I am honored to be your wife," she finally said, "my love."

Contented, Yosef brought her hands closer to him and kissed them. "Then I am the happiest man in Nazareth."

"We are the happiest," Miryam let out a relieved laugh.

Their wonderful moment did not fade, even when Joachim entered and asked what was going on, why was Yosef in the house. Anna explained everything to him, and when she was done he was just as happy as his wife.

And even that could not match up to the couple who were overjoyed that Miryam's child – no, _their_ child, if only for the rest of their life together – would have a loving family to grow up in and be loved by.

* * *

 **(A/N: Ah, love.)**


	3. His Name Is John

"So, you're saying that your cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had a child?"

Miryam nodded, and Yosef hummed in acknowledgement as he guzzled some water from a waterskin. "But aren't they too old to have a child?"

"The angel told me nothing was impossible with God." Miryam said simply. "And Zechariah and Elizabeth have waited their whole married life for this."

Yosef turned and came closer to Miryam. "I've waited my whole life for you."

She laughed. "Not really!"

He laughed as well. His wife gave him one look, and said, "So you want to know the story, then."

"Every last detail."

"Of course." She brushed a lock of hair from her face. "I've been there for only three months, so don't expect me to tell you their life stories, especially since it's been months since I saw them last."

"Then just tell me about their child," Yosef sat down next to Miryam on the ground. "I will listen anyway."

The Spiritual jumped right in. "So, after the angel presented his message about my child to me, I immediately thought of Elizabeth, and wanted to congratulate her on being blessed by God.

"When I came to Zechariah and Elizabeth's house, though, it was _she_ who blessed me." Miryam looked away and laughed wistfully at the memory. "I could not stop her, for she was so happy. And apparently, so was her baby." She turned back to him. "Jumped for joy in her womb at the sound of my voice, she said!"

"What a queer notion," Yosef commented. Not out of malice had he said it, however; he had just never heard anything quite like it.

Miryam raised her eyebrows at him. "People do crazy things for God." Having made that statement, she laid a hand on her swollen belly. "Zechariah came in when I started to sing. Elizabeth told me he was a little jealous of such a song."

"And why did he not just sing a song himself?" Yosef had the barest notions of what his wife's cousin Elizabeth and cousin-in-law Zechariah were like, but he had heard enough stories to know that Elizabeth was a Wind Elemental like Anne, and Zechariah was a Spiritual like Miryam.

Miryam spoke quietly. "...Because he was mute, both vocally and telepathically, by that time."

"O-oh. What happened?"

"Elizabeth told me that Zechariah had seen an angel of the Lord as well. Announcing the birth of his babe, too." She wondered if she could say that she wondered if that angel and the angel who gave her the news about her becoming pregnant were one and the same, but then decided against it. "But because both he and Elizabeth were aged, he expressed doubt, and had his voice taken away as a result."

Yosef nodded as he listened, remembering the dream he had had that fateful night. "I see."

"Yet the most amazing incident happened three months after I came, nearly at the end of my visit." Miryam continued with the story. "Elizabeth gave birth to a son. Eight days later, her extended family and friends had come to witness the boy's circumcision; they were all very excited, as he was already showing signs of being a Spiritual, crying in Elizabeth's mind even though his mouth was shut.

"They were all wondering what Zechariah was going to name him, just as he had attached the Spiritual pin to the boy's swaddling clothes. Someone suggested that they name the boy after his father – but Elizabeth gave him a stern look and said, 'No, no; the boy's name is John.'

"Now, no one in Zechariah's family had the name John, so they asked him what he wanted to name the baby and gave him a tablet to write on. And what did he write?" Miryam shifted closer to Yosef. " 'His name is John.'"

"Was that the name that the angel had told him to give the child?" Yosef asked. She nodded. "And that was the name that loosened his tongue; why the very first word out of his mouth was 'John'! As we were all amazed, now that he could sing, he sang a lovely song."

"And what would that be?" Yosef asked, tilting his head.

Miryam's smile became a smirk. "You just want to hear me sing," she teased.

"Who wouldn't?" Yosef responded, and was glad when she simply laughed. _Lord, the wife You have given me is so, so beautiful._

She conceded, "Fine, I will sing." Still smiling, she closed her eyes, trying to remember the song, and then she opened her mouth.

 _Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,  
_ _for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.  
_ _He has raised up a horn for our salvation  
_ _within the house of David his servant,  
_ _even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:  
_ _salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,  
_ _to show mercy to our fathers  
_ _and to be mindful of his holy covenant  
_ _and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,  
_ _and to grant us that,  
_ _rescued from the hand of enemies,  
_ _without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness  
_ _before him all our days._

 _And you, child,  
_ _will be called prophet of the Most High,  
_ _for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,  
_ _to give his people knowledge of salvation  
_ _through the forgiveness of their sins,  
_ _because of the tender mercy of our God  
_ _by which the daybreak from will visit us  
_ _to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow,  
_ _to guide our feet into the path of peace. *****_

When she was done, she opened her eyes, and found her husband in front of her face, so close that she could hear his breathing, see his shoulders moving up and down.

They said nothing for a while, before Miryam moved up from her seat to make her lips met his. Then she sat back down and watched Yosef's face turn red.

"We should continue walking," Miryam said, looking at the road ahead of them. "It's a long way to Bethlehem."

* * *

 **(A/N: * - Luke 1: 68-79**

 **Spirituals have a way of singing spontaneously. It's an important part of Spiritual culture; especially in Israel, where this talent is used to - you guessed it - glorify God.**

 **More world-building today, but more Biblical stories in the next chapter!)**


	4. O Little Town Of Bethlehem

**(A/N: Finally, after so long, the Christmas chapter! Merry Christmas, then!**

 **Verses from the New American Bible have been used.)**

* * *

Yosef coughed once, then twice, then thrice. Clearing his throat of the mucus, he pulled the donkey behind him forward by the reins.

Miryam looked over him worriedly. "Yosef, you are in pain," she said, rubbing his back. She didn't like the pale shade of green spreading on his chest.

"It is nothing," he reassured her, despite knowing she knew what he was going through.

Walking beside him, Miryam could do nothing but nod and cover her head further with her veil. "I have just never met anyone who gets sick as easily as you do."

"Travel sickness," he said, wiping his runny nose with his sleeve. "It will pass." Inwardly he cursed himself for not sleeping with a blanket on, especially since the nights in the desert were as cold as the days were hot. The Mechanical consoled himself with the thought that his pregnant wife needed it more.

"When we get to an inn, Miryam, we can rest." He looked her over. "How is your child?"

The Spiritual ran a hand over her belly. "He will want to come soon, I think." Her mouth was pressed into a line.

They walked on in silence for a while, one broken only by Yosef's occasional coughs and sneezes. Until finally, they reached the gate of Bethlehem.

By Miryam's feet, there were several men sitting by the road – beggars, she recognized. Their eyes held such an unspeakable sadness that the Spiritual didn't even need to look at their deep blue chests.

"Wait," she muttered, reaching for her coin purse. Miryam then took two coins from the bag, and handed it to the beggar beside her. The blue almost instantly turned to a light cheery yellow.

"Thank you, miss," he said hoarsely, momentarily clasping her hand. Miryam tried not to stare at the Controlled pin attached to the beggar's cloak.

When they reached the man sitting at the table at the gate, Miryam had already given something to all the beggars (but it wasn't a big enough amount to empty the purse). The man at the gate looked up at the new arrivals, and picked up his pen. "Name?"

"Ah, Yosef, son of Jacob," Yosef answered. "And this is my wife, Miryam, daughter of Joachim." *****

"Where did you come from?"

"We hail from Nazareth, in Galilee. We are here for the census because I am a descendant of the line of King David."

"Not the first time I've heard that," the man remarked. "There are so many people in Bethlehem this time of year. Good luck finding an inn to stay in," he waved them off.

When they entered the town, it was not hard for them to see why the man at the gate had said that. A multitude of people had come from ever corner of Israel to Bethlehem to sign up in the census as descendants of the great King David.

Yosef looked left and right, coughing into his sleeve. This was obviously going to be a problem.

Beside him, Miryam put a hand over her belly, noting the glow of orange slowly seep over the pale green of sickness. "Come, Yosef," she said, catching her husband's attention. "Let's find an inn."

The first inn they came to seemed large and spacious. But when Yosef asked for a room, the innkeeper shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but there is no room left," he apologized. "There are many people here, but I am sure you will find somewhere else to stay."

"Yes..." Yosef sniffled. "Yes, thank you." Then, taking up the reins of the donkey, he grabbed Miryam's hand and took his leave.

He sneezed twice, and that was when Miryam's hand stiffened over her stomach.

"Yosef," she breathed, leaning onto the donkey. The Mechanical had just turned around, and was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw the drops of water falling out from under Miryam's robe.

He had only seen that once before, when he was visiting his pregnant cousin and she had entered into labor right in front of him.

 _Oh no._

"Miryam–" he ran over, and grabbed her. "It-it's going to be fine. I'll figure..." he coughed again, "I'll figure something out."

The spasms had then passed for a while, enough for Miryam to be able to walk with Yosef to the second inn, where hopefully they would be able to find something.

But to Miryam and Yosef's growing panic, the response they got from the second inn was the same as the one they had gotten in the first. "I am very sorry, sir," the innkeeper said as he lighted a torch with his bare hands (a worried Fire Elemental, Miryam noted by the vermilion shade of his breast). "There really is no more room in my inn, honestly!"

Miryam's hand tightened on Yosef's shoulder; the labor pains were coming again, and she let out a whimper. Yosef wrapped an arm around her protectively, ignoring the itch in his throat.

"Please; isn't there any other place we could stay, then?" The Mechanical hadn't meant to raise his voice, but he did as the mix of orange and green on his chest turned deeper. "Any room, any other inn; anything will do!"

The fires on the torch flickered, and Yosef was worried for a second that he had done something offensive, but the innkeeper suggested calmly, "I do not have anything. There is an inn with some room, I think, but it is across town."

Yosef looked at the streets, still full of people, and to the donkey that was laden with many of both his and Miryam's belongings, and then finally to his wife, who was struggling to keep standing.

He nodded at the innkeeper. "Yes, thank you." Yosef slung the reins of the donkey over his shoulder and under his arm, and then with a mighty heave grabbed Miryam and carried her in his arms, walking out into the crowds on the road.

For nearly half an hour Yosef had traveled the length of Bethlehem, during which Miryam's labor pains had gotten more and more intense. Only once during this span of time had the Mechanical laid her down in order to rest, at the Spiritual's command for him to slow down.

(Yosef admired her so much – even in her pain her eyes were directed towards others.)

Finally, Yosef and Miryam reached the inn, but the former felt a little discouraged. What if there was no more room again? Would Miryam have to give birth out here, just as the sun was beginning to set? He set his worries to the back of his mind as he walked up to the person who seemed to be the innkeeper, leaving everything up to the God who had brought them this far.

"Sir," he said in a voice weak from coughing, trying hard not to fall at the man's feet. "We have come far, and my wife is about to have a child. Do you have any room for us to stay?" he pleaded.

The innkeeper was about to open his mouth to apologize, but then his wife had chosen that moment to walk in. The woman took one look at Miryam, struggling with her baby, and without a second thought rushed to her side and eased her down to the ground.

"It's going to be alright, miss, do not be afraid," she assured Miryam. "I will help you."

She turned to her husband, and then the innkeeper had an idea. "There is the stable," he pointed at a nearby cave, where various goats, sheep, and chickens were. "Put them there until I can make better arrangements."

"Thank you, thank you!" Yosef finally felt some relief – but the orange was yet to disappear.

The innkeeper's wife nodded, and with that immediately took charge of the situation. She waved Yosef's wife over, and with one glance he knew that he was to carry her again inside the stable.

"Bring me cloths, water, and some helpers!" she ordered a servant. "By the name of the Lord, this child _will_ be born!"

The woman didn't know how right she was.

* * *

Yosef waited outside the stable for an hour, before the innkeeper sat with him to keep him company. Miryam's labor cries echoed from the cave walls, and for a moment Yosef wondered if he would still be able to hear them if he covered his ears, so close was his tie with his wife.

"Your wife is spooking the lambs," the innkeeper said, probably to lighten the mood. Yosef simply coughed, and looked to the Spiritual pin that was attached to the other man's turban.

"Thank you for your kindness," the Mechanical decided to say. The innkeeper shook his head. "You should be thanking my wife," he admitted. "Despite being a Spiritual, I am not the most sensitive or considerate person. But my wife – she always knows what to do."

"What magic does your wife possess?" Yosef was curious, as he had not seen the pin hidden behind the woman's shawl.

The innkeeper shifted, mildly uneasy. "She...she is an Anti-Magic."

"...Oh," was all Yosef could manage, before coughing awkwardly, lapsing into a long silence.

Making up a small portion of the population, Controlleds – those who could not use magic for any reason – stuck out like a tattered cloak at a wedding feast. The world's rules were made to favor the vast majority of people, or more simply, those who had magic; so when the most important rules of these rules were broken, the solution was simple: take away the perpetrator's powers by sticking an enchanted Controlled pin onto their person.

But the Anti-Magics...they did not need such an enchantment when God Himself punished them (at least it seemed so in the eyes of men). Anti-Magics were those who were born without magic, and would therefore never be able to use magic.

"It was hard, at first," the innkeeper finally went on. "My mother kept nagging me, what was I thinking, taking an Anti-Magic for a wife? And I got tired of constantly receiving thanks from her family; they were so afraid that she would never marry. And to add to that, my older brother keeps asking if we still do not have children yet because of her ability – by that, he means the lack of any ability.

"But my wife, Leah...she completes me. When I am tempted to say things I should not say, I can tell her of my temptation and she will discourage me from dishonoring my family. I want to do something that I should not do, she calms me down. We love each other, and if the Lord wills that we live without children, the Lord's will be done."

Yosef was impressed by the innkeeper's testimony. If the innkeeper could love his wife though she was an Anti-Magic, and she him when he was constantly tempted to do the wrong things, how much more could Miryam love _him_ if her ever got frustrated with their lot in life (he had the vague feeling she would never be tired of their status in society), or he a Child that had not come from his own blood and flesh?

He looked to the innkeeper, with sincere gratitude on his lips, but he felt he didn't need to say anything when the other man clapped him on the shoulder. "I understand completely," he said. "The Lord's will be done."

Whether or not the man had heard him think that Miryam's Child was not his, none of that mattered as Miryam's wails were soon joined by that of a newborn baby.

Yosef's heart leaped.

* * *

"Hey, do you see that?"

Jonah yawned, looking up at his older companions. Somehow he had fallen asleep; but was grateful for these others who had stayed awake to watch over their sheep. "See what?"

Another shepherd, who had not said the earlier phrase, looked at Jonah. "Praise be to God, Jonah is awake!" he raised his hands to the sky. Then to the young man he said, "Jonah, you have to to stay awake. You know, if you start falling asleep, then so does our only source of warmth!"

Jonah huffed, and sat up, pointing a finger at the dying fire. At his gesture it started up anew. "Yes, thank you for the reminder, Baruch," he said, rolling his eyes. He looked up at the third person. "What is it, Jeremiah?"

"There," Jeremiah pointed up at the night sky. "That star. Have we ever seen that star before?"

Jonah raised an eyebrow. "How should I know? I've only been out with you and these silly sheep for a couple of nights."

Baruch regarded Jonah with a serious look on his face. "Jonah, you must understand that your father doesn't make you stay with us every night now for nothing."

"I know," the young man frowned.

"You have to control your fire magic..."

"I _know._ "

"...and you won't be able to do that if you just sleep out here and let us freeze in the cold."

"I know!" Jonah shouted, and the fire flared up. "Can't you go one night without nagging me about this?"

"Jonah," Jeremiah drifted back down to the ground from his place a few feet in the sky. "Shh..." the older man blew a comforting breeze. Jonah looked up at him, and then calmed down. The fire went back to normal.

Jeremiah put a hand on Jonah's shoulder. Jonah felt even better now; not that he would ever say it, but Jeremiah had already felt like a second father to him even in the short span of time they had spent in each other's company. "Baruch, Jonah will learn, I am sure of it," Jeremiah said firmly.

When no one said anything else, Jeremiah floated back up in the air, and he crossed his legs while watching over the sheep from the sky.

Baruch crossed his arms, and turned away from Jonah – then his eyes widened.

"Jeremiah, remember that star you pointed out?" Baruch said. "It's getting brighter."

Both Jonah and Jeremiah looked up to the night sky when he said this, and what they saw was not just a shining star.

In the sky, they could see thousands upon thousands of angels, their faces glowing bright from having been in the presence of God. ****** One of them in the front flew closer, causing Jeremiah to fall from his place in the air. Not only the shepherds but also their sheep where frightened by the encounter.

However, the angel reassured them, _"Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord._

" _And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."_

After that, the multitude of angels began to sing in a chorus:

" _ **Glory to God in the highest,  
**_ _ **And on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests!"**_

Then the angels left their sight, and the sky became what it once was again.

Jonah, Jeremiah, and Baruch gaped for a while, before they blinked and came back to themselves.

"What...what was that?" Baruch asked in bewilderment.

"Those were God's messengers!" Jonah said. The fire flickered. "A-are we going to die?"

"...We must go into Bethlehem at once," Jeremiah said. "The angel told us to follow the star, right?" He pointed up at the same star that he had pointed up to before, now the brightest one in the night sky.

His two companions then watched as the Wind Elemental flew up in the air, higher than he had before. Jeremiah looked over the surrounding areas, before finding the one place upon where the star's light seemed to definitely guide.

"I know where we need to go!"Jeremiah declared. He descended to extend a hand to them – and Jonah didn't have the heart to tell the older men that he was afraid of heights.

"Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us," Baruch said.

* * *

Miryam wished she could revel in this quiet moment forever.

Yes, labor was quite excruciating, and it was safe to say she didn't like any second of it. But the Spiritual saw the calm yellow on her Yosef's heart, and the radiance of her Child, and she knew it was all worth it.

Oh, her Child. The Messiah, the Resolute Protector, the promised Redeemer. What kind of Child would He be as He grew up, she wondered.

Most likely, He would be one who feared the Lord. Would He pray every day at the Temple or the synagogue, would He preach God's word? Would He stir up a rebellion, as many would like to believe? Or, being of God, would He even need a rebellion? Would He just trample the enemies of Israel under His foot?

Miryam contemplated all this, and decided that she wouldn't worry about the future. Whatever the Lord had in store, that was what she would accept.

She kept that thought to herself, and treasured it in her heart. Miryam would follow that philosophy to the end of her days.

Suddenly, something invaded her mind. She looked up, and immediately realized that it was many thoughts–

" _Who are these men? Aren't these shepherds supposed to keep their flocks grazing in the fields?"_

" _Where is the Child? Am I mistaken?"_

" _What are we doing here? I hope we're not doing this for naught."_

–and they were coming from people outside the inn.

(Sometimes, Miryam was surprised at the accuracy of her mind reading. But it was a skill she did not want to hone too much, as others might think her nosy.)

There was more muttering in her head, until she heard footsteps coming up to the stable. Miryam gathered her Child to herself, while Yosef moved closer to his small family.

Three men walked in, followed closely by bleating sheep. Miryam could sense that the sheep were tired, and she inferred that it was from running after these men, who were shepherds, judging by the smell of grass on them.

"Good evening," the oldest of them said, bowing low to the seated couple. ( _That was new._ ) "Excuse us...we are but lowly shepherds, from the fields."

"But we have heard...heard that there was a newborn here, born to be the Messiah!" the youngest among them now said, and Miryam read from the colors on his chest that he was mustering all the courage he could manage. "May we enter to worship?"

Well, that certainly wasn't what Miryam had expected when she meant the Lord's will be done. But she looked at Yosef, and told him through her mind, _Let them enter._

The Mechanical raised a hand to point at the nearby manger, and only moving a finger so he wouldn't be far from his family, made the manger come closer to them.

Slowly, Miryam then lowered her baby into the manger, hoping they hadn't been expecting anything grander. This was all they could afford to show.

But the shepherds stared in wonder at the Infant, and knelt down in front of the manger. They stared until a smile began to appear on their faces, one by one.

"Praise the Lord," spoke the one man who had not spoken before quietly. Then his voice was raised towards heaven and he said, "Praise be to the Lord, who has done this for us!"

They all laughed, and the fires of the torches inside the stable glowed brighter than before. "Everything we have heard from the angel was true! Our Savior is born!"

Baruch, Jeremiah, and Jonah grinned ear to ear, feeling that this was just the beginning of their joy.

And it was also just the beginning of Miryam and Yosef's wonder at who this Child was to be.

* * *

 **(A/N: * - I referred to Joseph's genealogy in Matthew, instead of the one in Luke, though this chapter is heavily taken from the latter. As for Miryam being the daughter of Joachim – for those who were confused by the second chapter – this is according to Catholic tradition. [Or at least I think it's Catholic.]**

 **** - Refer to Exodus 34: 27-35, where this happens to Moses after he speaks to God, as he spoke to God face to face.)**


	5. The Presentation

**(A/N: Sorry for being so late. I was feeling kind of lethargic on the few days that I was able to get a break, due to the season of exams. And I'm also busy moving up from Junior High School to Senior High School, so that's a thing.**

 **Anyway, here is the long-awaited update! And a blessed Holy Week! (And probably a blessed Easter as well, on account of my slow updates...yeah. Good.))**

* * *

Like many other babies, Yeshuah had shown signs of magic as early as a few days after birth.

Sure, He was as weak and tiny as any infant could get. As Miryam watched her Child suckle at her breast, she often pondered how God could make Himself human, take His very essence and put it in a baby boy. And then she remembered, this baby boy would grow up. Would He still be dependent on others' help as he grew? Or would He be fully independent by the time He reached his _bar mitzvah_ , not needing any human on this earth to aid him, as He _is_ God?

Usually after this, she would close her eyes, and remind herself that there was no use speculating on a future only the Lord God could control.

On the seventh day, she had finished feeding her Son, and had now laid Him down to rest in his crib. After a few people had left the inn to settle in their own homes, the innkeeper had found them a room to stay, for a fee that Yosef estimated would keep them for two months. Now they had a proper bed, for both Miryam and Yosef, and for their Son.

She had turned around for only one second, to adjust her veil that had slipped down. Then the door creaked open in front of her – of its own accord.

For a moment, Miryam stared at the doorway, trying to see if Yosef was standing there, his arms full with various things that caused him to use his powers to open the door. But Yosef was not standing there – and her husband normally didn't have his hands full with anything, even after planning to begin working in Bethlehem again.

Her eyes turned to her Son, who was awake in the crib. He was staring up at her with Yosef's bright eyes, eyes that were somehow on His face though Yosef was not His father. She held out a finger towards Him, and He grasped it.

That was when the door opened wider, the light of the sun outside flooding in. She looked up, pulling her finger back. As she did, the door began to shut a little. There was no wind, she noted.

Miryam's eyes widened, and then she looked down at her Son, scanning Him with her Spiritual powers for the first time since He was born; as she wasn't sure if she could handle the essence of the Son of God.

She scanned Him carefully, and found Him just like any other human infant.

The sparks of magic were now flowing through His being.

It was on the eighth day that her Child was circumcised, and He was given the name Yeshuah. As well as a name, a copper pin He received that day: one that signified Him as a Default Mechanical.

* * *

Thirty-three days later, Miryam found herself staring up at the houses and buildings of the city of Jerusalem, trying to compare it to her humble town of Nazareth. Nazareth felt much smaller than this city, even more so among the crowds of people that were by the Temple courts.

The baby in her arms slept while she cradled Him, firmly yet gently, as she and Yosef walked on to perform a long-awaited sacrifice for many parents: the presentation of their first-born child to the Lord.

Sure enough, there was another couple there to do the same thing; Miryam's gaze turned to them as the priest took the lamb and the pigeon that this couple had chosen for the sacrifice. Then she looked at the two caged turtledoves that Yosef was carrying, and felt a strange twinge when she did. But it did not rule over her.

They had stopped for a while, wondering who to ask – _was Zechariah in the area?_ , Miryam thought, _maybe he could help_ – before she noticed Yeshuah looking opening his tiny eyes and looking in one direction. Absently, she turned her eyes to where He was looking at, and found an elderly man staring right at her.

Her eyes darted behind her, trying to see anything worthy of a stare, but couldn't find anything, and then she returned to the elderly man, who was beginning to walk towards them. Miryam looked down at her Child, but the small infant had resumed sleeping.

At this point, Yosef had noticed who his wife was looking at, and so shifted uneasily when the elderly man finally stopped in front of them. He glanced at the baby boy in Miryam's arms, before he finally greeted, " _Shalom,_ young parents."

" _Sh-shalom_ ," Miryam managed to stutter out, while Yosef returned the greeting a little more quietly. Formalities gotten out of the way, the man continued, "Excuse me, but I do not mean to disturb you...happy, happy parents." He gestured at the Child with his aged hands. "I just wish to hold your Son in my arms; to see the hopes that I have been waiting for all my life fulfilled, to see God's holy Messiah!"

Though the volume of his speech was low, his words were intense, so Yosef and Miryam shared a look with each other before the latter finally let her Son be held by the elderly man.

As soon as the infant was out of His mother's arms and into the stranger's, a smile started to appear on the man's mouth, and his eyes crinkled with joy. He laughed tenderly, and Yosef and Miryam looked on with wonder as the stranger began to sing aloud,

" _Now, Master,  
_ _you may let your servant go in peace, according to Your word,  
_ _for my eyes have seen your salvation,  
_ _which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,  
_ _a light for revelation to the Gentiles,  
_ _and glory for your people Israel."_

Yosef's eyebrows raised, and Miryam's mouth fell open. It was not the eloquence of the words or the sudden loudness of his voice that surprised them; but rather the words from his mouth. Even if an angel had come to the two of them and told them outright that this Child was the Son of God, the idea of Him being all these wonderful things was still a hard thing for them to wrap their heads around.

They were silent as the man introduced himself as Simeon and blessed the two of them, before handing the boy back to His mother. Miryam was able to take a long look at the bronze pin that signified this elder as a Spiritual – a _Gifted_ Spiritual at that.

" _Do not think me blessed, young lady,"_ a voice rang in Miryam's head, and she knew that it belonged to Simeon. She was silent as he continued, _"I have only done my duty to our Lord and I pray that you may continue to do yours."_

He gave her a significant look, before going on to tell her:

" _Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and t be a sign that will be contradicted – and you yourself a sword will pierce – so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."_

The yellow on his chest faded to a mild purple. Miryam looked at that for only a moment, before Simeon hastily bid them goodbye and walked out of the Temple grounds.

Yosef had not heard anything of what Simeon told Miryam, but the look on his wife's face was enough to let him know that something had happened.

"What did he tell you?" the Mechanical asked her, and she turned to him with eyes that had only begun to realize what the elder's words had meant.

"Our child," she murmured, trying to keep her new-found fear under control. Yosef put a hand on her shoulder, trying to understand.

The words that Miryam couldn't say built up inside her, all beginning to call to her one thing: _Something will happen to Yeshuah!_

If Yosef were a Spiritual and not a Mechanical, he would be able to see her heart glow violet with the stress that it was carrying. But he was a Mechanical, and therefore couldn't see the color of the soul. Yet he tried to ask her what was wrong, and comfort her.

It wasn't long before footsteps sounded before them yet again, and Miryam could sense that it was another stranger even though her head was turned away. Yosef looked up, though, and saw an old woman coming towards them, with wonder and then compassion in her eyes.

"Young lady," she asked, "why are you so troubled?"

Miryam looked at the newcomer, and then back down at her Child, but was still unable to find an appropriate reply to her question. She shifted her feet on the ground, wondering why the words just wouldn't come out.

"Whatever your problem is," the old woman came forward, and seemed to give Miryam a kindly look, "I am sure that the Lord will be able to find a solution; even though sometimes it is never one that you expect."

Unlike with Simeon, neither the Mechanical nor the Spiritual seemed to feel uneasy with this woman. So they stayed silent, and began to keenly listen to her as she continued in a soft voice, "I have lived for a long, long time; why, I must have already been an elder even at the time _you_ were born, dear." Here she was referring to Miryam. "And I have praised God at His holy Temple for all my life. So far trusting in His will has brought me nothing but blessings – save for the death of my husband many years back, but the Lord has His reasons that we cannot fathom. Perhaps sometimes it is better not to try to gain knowledge of what must not be known."

She looked at the silent spouses, and went on, "Do not focus on your problems, but let us rejoice." The widow looked with joyful tears at Yeshuah, who was awake again. "For God has sent us a Resolute Redeemer, and He will fulfill His promises of old." She smiled widely. "Just you wait."

The widow then clasped her hands together, and slowly something that seemed like paint dripped out of them, stopping in the air short of the Infant's face. Then the family watched as the paint morphed itself into a small butterfly, feeble yet graceful, and Yeshuah seemed to try to reach out and grasp it.

Miryam was filled with wonder at this, but to Yosef it was no big surprise; Mechanicals had to work closely with Visuals to design their crafts. He looked back to the widow, but she was already going among the people in the Temple, singing praises to God.

The Spiritual stared after the butterfly for a few moments, when someone called out, "Ah, there you are!"

She turned around, and this time it was no stranger – she didn't know if she could handle so much surprises in quick succession – but Zechariah, husband of her cousin Elizabeth.

" _Shalom_ , Miryam, Yosef!" Zechariah asked, looking both of them over. "What happened? You look as if you have seen a vision."

"It is nothing, just..." Miryam nodded in the direction of the old woman who had just been speaking to them. "Who is that Visual widow?"

Zechariah's eyebrows were raised. "Ah, that is Anna, daughter of Phanuel. Ever since her husband died, she has never left the Temple, and she prays and fasts day and night. The people call her a prophetess." He suppressed a small smile. "Though some people were not so accepting of a Visual at first."

Then he turned to them. "There is a priest ready to perform the rites. Are you ready? Do you have your sacrifices?"

"Y-yes, here," Yosef said, being snapped out of his thoughts. He held up the cage in which the two turtledoves were still trapped, cooing softly.

"Then let us begin." Zechariah walked up the Temple steps. Miryam, still in a daze, followed him, and then Yosef was the last to come, as he was wondering what else he and his family had begun.

* * *

 **(A/N: More world-building. Not much has changed in this world, however; there are just new rules and nearly everyone has magic powers. _Nearly_ everyone.)**


	6. Drops, Firewood, and Grass

**(A/N: Sorry for the little hiatus. Here's a little more world-building for the interested [and the non-interested as they have no other choice but to read this anyway, I think].)**

* * *

Six months later, Miryam was washing the dishes when she noticed something rather strange coming out of a vase filled with water.

It wasn't a creature that popped outside the container, though. What the Spiritual noticed was a strange blob of water coming out of the vase's opening. She stared at it in surprise for two seconds before coming over to it and looking inside.

"What in the..." she asked herself, putting out a finger to the bubble. When Miryam touched it, however, it popped, spilling into tiny water drops. She blinked, and then looked out the window that was above it.

Was there a Water Elemental around, messing with her? Sure, there wasn't an abudance of them in Bethlehem – for they tended to flourish near bodies of water – but it wasn't impossible for them to come to landlocked areas every once in a while. She checked outside for any snickering people, but found none.

Pursing her lips, she decided to continue with her chores, but was more observant than before just to figure who exactly was doing that.

It was then that Yeshuah wobbled into the room, still trying to get used to walking on his own. Miryam paused from hr work again, but this time to look down at her Son. He looked expectantly at her, and she thought maybe He was going to ask to be carried in her arms.

"What're you doing here, son?" she asked in a playful tone, grabbing him and lifting him off the ground, cradling the small one in her arms. The Spiritual had to laugh when He stretched His arm out to the water where the dishes were, trying to touch it.

She lowered him to look at the water, if only to show Him His own reflection in the surface, which was now calming. He stared at Himself for a while, before slapping the water with a small hand.

Miryam flinched instinctively to get as far away from the drops of water...that didn't hit her. She opened her eyes, and gasped.

The water was held in mid-air. Every drop of water was fixed right before her eyes, right as Yeshuah had struck it. She looked at her Son, who was giggling in child-like glee.

* * *

"You are saying that he stopped the water from spilling?"

"Yes, Yosef," Miryam said, reaching for a piece of bread. "It was strange; Yeshuah didn't seem to be bothered by it at all."

"That would make our son a Water Elemental, not a Mechanical." Yosef raised an eyebrow.

"I know," Miryam said. "But because of this, I think we need to keep a closer eye on Yeshuah from now on. Who knows what He might do? What if people think that a witch has been toying with our Son?"

Yosef paused at the mention of a witch.

"...Then we must defend Him, and raise Him as well as we can. Who knows; maybe this is God's plan." He then chuckled dryly. "Why is it that whenever I am not around, Yeshuah makes a display of magic?"

"He will warm up to you, if He hasn't already," Miryam tried to smile as well. "Maybe He is just being a good boy around you and not causing you any trouble."

"Of course He is," Yosef said, picking up his cup of water. "I would expect nothing less from our Son."

* * *

A month later, Yosef was entering the house after a long day of working. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his eyes wandered the room – Miryam was cleaning some dishes, while Yeshuah was lying down on a cloth in front of the table, sleeping peacefully. In the corner, a pot of stew was boiling away.

"Yosef!" Miryam turned towards him, and gave him a smile. "You've arrived early."

"It feels like forever since I have been here, though," he remarked. "Saul-bar-Hosea just wouldn't stop talking about how fast his children are growing."

"Oh, I hope they grow to be strong, though," Miryam said. "I would rather he went on and on about happy things than sad things."

"Of course."

As they both spoke, the Child woke up, and blinked as He realized that His other caretaker had returned. "Ah!" Yeshuah said, trying to get up. Yosef turned towards him, and bent down.

"Yeshuah!" he crooned, reaching down and picking Him up. "How's my boy?" The Child responded by saying something unintelligible, but that was fine with Yosef, who began to lower Him so that He was now being cradled in Yosef's arms.

"It seems that he missed you," Miryam said fondly, returning to the dishes.

"I would like to think so," Yosef admitted, poking the eight month-old's nose. When he did that, Yeshuah paused, as if Yosef had done something to make Him stop moving. The older Mechanical laughed, crooning over Him, and Miryam cracked a smile as well.

A few moments after this happened, Yeshuah decided to move again, and then blew a couple of raspberries, trying to smile at His father.

Yosef sighed merrily, and put Yeshuah back on the ground. "That didn't mean anything bad, I hope," he said. Then he looked up from the Child, and paused.

"Miryam, did you put out the fire on the stove?" he asked, and once more his wife stopped washing the dishes as well to look at what he was looking at.

"No, I didn't..." she said, walking over to the stove. She checked the firewood, and found herself in a quandary.

 _What in the world?_

She moved away to get something to ignite a fire once again, but just as her back was turned to the firewood, a sudden warmth appeared from behind her. The Spiritual glanced over her shoulder, and found the stove glowing once more.

"Yosef?" she looked at him, as if searching the area in front of him for any tools that could be used to spark a fire.

"Do not look at me," the Mechanical said, and that was when Miryam's eyes turned towards her Son.

* * *

The whole Sabbath after that, Miryam and Yosef watched their Son carefully to see if He would do anything that a normal Mechanical baby wouldn't be able to do. But the water in the vessels were not flowing out, and the fire at the stove was steadily burning.

Miryam wanted to consult with a priest about what was happening – for that was the standard procedure – but they had to find some solid proof of extra-Mechanical magic that would be brought to the synagogue. And so far, she couldn't prove that her Son had moved water or put out fire without said water. Neither could Yosef, who had not been around for the first.

And after all, it might have just been a next-door Elemental that was messing with them for either incident. Fire Elementals were known for being mischievous, and one of them might have just wanted to joke around with their new neighbors. And Fire Elementals abounded where Water Elementals didn't – though it wasn't impossible for them to be in the same place. (They just weren't known for getting along well.)

But who would want to confuse new parents, and at the nature of their Child's magic, at that! Who would have parents believe that their firstborn Son could control more manners of magic than either of His parents could–

–who would have His parents wonder if He was a Resolute, when a Resolute hadn't shown up in Israel for many centuries now?

A witch, maybe.

If there was any topic more shrouded in taboo than the existence of Anti-Magics, it would have to be witchcraft. And it was a common rumor that the two of them often overlapped.

Now a witch, in the Law of Moses, was only fit to either wear a Controlled pin or die. For a witch overthrew the order of God by trying to control magic that He had not ordained the witch to keep.

Witchcraft was defined as the practice of making oneself a magician that could control more than one type of magic – for example, a Mechanical trying to become a Visual at the same time, even if only to decorate his work. Perhaps a more extreme version would be that of a person of any magical denomination trying to control the whole spectrum of magic – and become a sort of man-made Resolute.

To make oneself a Resolute was one thing – but to make it seem like a child was one, that was another thing entirely...

Miryam carried Yeshuah outside, all these things on her mind. She looked around at the sparse vegetation around them – Earth Elementals in the area didn't bother to grow much grass when they could grow flowers and trees instead – and walked on through the town of Bethlehem.

She scanned the people around him, taking note of the various colors on other people's chests (purple, orange, yellow, faint greens), and then looked back down at her own Child. He was looking about their surroundings as well. For a moment the thought of Him being aware of the other residents, even if He was just a small baby now, crossed her mind.

Several children were playing nearby, running around and waving their hands up and down. All their chests were yellow, and Miryam smiled.

 _Maybe Yeshuah could join the other kids in games when He grows up._

She walked over to the well, and stared into the deep waters below. For a moment she remembered when the angel had announced Yeshuah's birth to her, and she had said yes even though she could see that it was hard, that life would never be the same for her once she accepted God's Son into her womb.

Miryam guessed that she should adopt the same attitude once more and draw from her faith in God. Whatever He wanted her to do, whether she was to present Yeshuah to the priest and check if He was a Resolute or not – she would try to open her mind and accept her fate.

"Oh, Yeshuah." She looked down at the Child in her arms, still sleeping. "What am I going to do with you?" She smiled, and exhaled, then went back home.

If she had looked behind her, she would have noticed that right where she had stood a moment ago, blades of grass began to grow swiftly.

* * *

So Yeshuah wasn't going to present any long-lasting proofs that He was a Resolute any time soon. Miryam and Yosef figured they could wait for a month or two, or maybe even a year – as long as their Child's star was shining in the sky, He would continue to bring wonders to His parents.

And so a month passed. And before they knew it, Yeshuah was two years old.

And when Yeshuah was two years old, a rather curious thing happened.

* * *

 **(A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Reviews would be very much appreciated.)**


	7. Visit of the Magi

**(A/N: Finally, some more plot action. Hope I haven't kept you readers waiting too long.)**

* * *

Heads turned upwards as they looked to see the newest spectacle in town.

In the streets of Jerusalem, passing through the city was a caravan of camels, all loaded with various kinds of gifts, with servants pulling them forward. The three camels in front were impressive in particular – a servant did not pull these, but instead a man in fine robes was seated on each one of them.

Judging by their features, one could say that these men weren't from Israel at all.

The citizens of Jerusalem then looked on as one of the men in the caravan asked something of one man in the streets. Upon hearing the foreigner's words, he and his wife were shocked.

"Newborn king?" he echoed.

* * *

The palace was alive with chatter and activity, the talk being mostly about the three Gentile visitors. What were they doing here? Were those gifts for the Resolute King? And who was this "newborn king" that they were speaking of?

The three visitors were now requesting to have an audience with the King. They had already given him gifts of linen and gold to show their gratitude for his hospitality. Though appreciative of the gifts, King Herod had to wonder about their mission in Israel.

Now he watched as the three Gentile visitors came and bowed before him. "We extend our deepest gratitude for your acceptance, Your Majesty," the tallest of them told him. "I am Melchior, a Gifted Mechanical Architect. The one on my left is Balthazar, a Gifted Spiritual, and the one on my right is Caspar, an Gifted Earth Elemental."

"Melchior, Balthazar, Caspar," Herod repeated, getting up from his throne and extending his arms. He continued, "You are welcome in the Kingdom of Israel. I appreciate your visit and your gifts, but pray tell, what is your business in my country?"

"We would just like to know, my lord," Balthazar replied this time. "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

"A-a star?" King Herod blinked, confused. "What does a star have to do with this?"

"A star appeared in the sky about two years ago – the brightest we have seen!" Caspar said, with some intensity. "It could only mean that a king was to be born. We followed it here to Israel, and we traveled here to the capital Jerusalem to visit the newborn king. Could it be your son?"

Herod looked over them, and then tried to smile. "You three wise men – you must be tired from your travels. Why don't you rest a little more? We can discuss this later."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Melchior said, and the three of them bowed to him. Herod reseated himself on the throne as the wise men exited the room.

"Why do you think he was so reluctant to tell us about the infant ruler, Balthazar?" Caspar asked his companion once they were outside the room.

"I saw the king's chest," Balthazar said simply. "He was confused, as well as considerably troubled. I would suppose that he does not have a new son."

* * *

"I don't have a newborn son!" Herod exclaimed, and many of the chief priests and scribes that he had summoned flinched at his emotion. Seeing them, he calmed himself and added, "So they must mean someone else. Who else would be King of Israel besides the Resolute King himself?"

"Why, the Messiah, my lord," one of the Visual scribes said, rather timidly.

The king turned towards him, and scanned the faces of the others. "And may I ask," he said, "where could these wise men find the Messiah, since they are looking for him?"

The priests thought long and hard about the answer, and talked about it among themselves, until one of them finally spoke up. "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

 _'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,  
_ _are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;  
_ _since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"_

A great hush was over the room, and the priests and scribes had their heads bowed in reverence of the dead prophet.

Herod, however, simply paced the room, his head only bowed as he thought of what he was to do. He tugged at the Resolute pin attached to his long purple coat, and the flames in the room shuddered.

He inhaled, and then looked at an Anti-Magic servant who had been standing by.

"Send for the magi," he told the servant.

* * *

In the town of Bethlehem, one young girl was staring out the window at the brightest star in the night sky. She closed her eyes, and a song threatened to come right out of her lips. But she couldn't find any words at the moment, so instead she chose to hum as she reached down and coddled her Son.

"You really are energetic tonight, aren't you?" Miryam playfully asked Yeshuah, and He laughed. "Y-yes, _Imah_ ," he stuttered, in an effort to get the words right.

Miryam laughed in delight. "Good, Yeshuah." She then set Him down. "But I have to make the bread, so you will have to wait here," she instructed. Amusingly, Yeshuah obediently plopped himself down on the ground, right on His bottom. Miryam smiled, and resumed pounding the dough that she had been making before she was lost in thought.

A good few minutes passed before a knocking sounded on the door, and Miryam looked up.

"Who could that be?" Miryam asked, and from the other end of the room, Yosef came forward. "I'll get the door," he told her. When he opened the door, though, his face was one of shock.

"Good evening," Melchior said, then bowed along with Balthazar and Caspar. "Is this the house of the newborn Resolute King?"

At the sound of the word "Resolute", Miryam sharply inhaled. She looked towards the door, and upon seeing the three Magi, scanned them for the colors on their chests. It was a pretty mix of orange and yellow, something of hopeful anticipation. She put a hand on Yeshuah's head, and her Son looked up at the new visitors.

" _Don't be alarmed,"_ an unfamiliar voice said to both Yosef and Miryam, and the former's eyes went to the pin on the youngest man's robe – a gold Spiritual pin. _"We do not mean any harm. We just want to see your Son."_

Miryam kept her mind blank – what could she say? – and looked down at Yeshuah once more. He looked up at her as well, and smiled.

"You...you may see him," Miryam said, keeping her voice level.

With that, Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar crept into the room with a few of their servants, bearing treasures from what looked like the East, from the countries far away from Israel. They looked down at the Son, and their eyes brightened, as if innocence had been returned to their mature minds.

Miryam and Yosef then watched as the Magi prostrated themselves, and paid their Son homage. The Son, on the other hand, did not seem entirely unaware of what was going on, but was still acting like a child and smiling plainly at the visitors.

When the three visitors got up, Melchior ordered the servant that had come with them, "Bring in the presents."

"Yes, sir," the servant said, and went right out to get the boxes that sat on the patient camels' backs with the other servants.

Neither Miryam nor Yosef knew how to feel about this. It seemed like something that every other mother and father would want – these wise men from a distant land calling their firstborn Son _king_ – but even after all that had happened to them, it was still enough to make their heads spin.

(It was only two years. And one year had passed with relatively enough monotony.)

The servants came back, and placed hefty boxes on the floor in front of Miryam and Yeshuah. Yosef's eyes scanned over the boxes, and like any other Mechanical would he sensed metal inside one of them. _A soft metal, too._

Caspar came forward, and opened the box that Yosef had scanned. "Gold for the king's treasury," he said, lowering his face, not daring to look the Child in the eyes.

Melchior was the next to present his gift; he opened a second box, and immediately a familiar smell wafted into the room. "This is frankincense, to be used as a perfume for the king." He also bowed his head, but when Yeshuah tried to walk towards him, he couldn't hold back a small smile.

Finally, Balthazar nodded at them a little nervously, and he bowed the lowest to Yeshuah as he cracked open the box. Yosef recognized the smell immediately.

"This is myrrh," Balthazar said, "a fragrant oil to anoint the king's head." His eyes darted up to Yeshuah, and the Child smiled down at him.

 _He's beautiful,_ Miryam heard him think.

 _I know,_ she couldn't help but say in her mind.

Balthazar's eyes went to her, but instead of saying anything out loud he simply nodded, and went back to standing beside the others. He gave them a significant look, and none of the three wise men knew what to say before Melchior bowed at them.

"We present these gifts to you, in the hopes that the King may need them someday," he said to them. "May he grow up to be resolute in his thoughts and deeds for his subjects, and may he govern them righteously."

"Amen," Balthazar and Caspar said, bowing as well. Then the three men said their farewells, and left the house with their servants.

Yosef, Miryam, and Yeshuah watched them leave, and Miryam didn't find herself surprised to see her Son try to wave goodbye at the three.

What she didn't suspect, however, was to see one of the men – the Spiritual – in tears.

* * *

"I sensed much goodness in Him," Balthazar said, tears falling from his eyes. "And to leave His presence! If only I could stay a little longer..."

"We cannot stay any longer in Israel," Melchior said, moving a rock so he could get up onto his camel. "And neither can we go back to Herod."

"Why not, Melchior?" Caspar asked, readying himself to get onto his camel as well. "Aren't we going to report this to the King?"

"I had a dream," Melchior told the other wise men. "In it was a creature so spectacular and so astonishing. This messenger told me clearly not to return to King Herod, because King Herod has intentions to kill the Child."

His two companions were silent for a brief moment. Caspar swallowed, and then said, "It must be because he is troubled at the notion of a king not from his own lineage."

"...So where do we go now?" Balthazar asked, and Melchior replied, "We go back to our kingdom by another way, without passing through Jerusalem. That way we can evade the King."

Caspar and Balthazar nodded, and the three wise men's camels began to move forward.

* * *

That same night, another Mechanical had such a dream as well.

"Miryam!" Yosef called, shaking his wife awake. "Miryam!"

Miryam groaned, and then opened her eyes to see her husband above her, a deep orange blooming on his chest.

"Yosef?" She sat up, and Yosef moved back to give her room. "What's the matter?"

"I've had a dream," he told her. "We have to leave, _now_."

Miryam's eyes widened, and then she scanned Yosef's mind.

In the two years they had been together, Miryam had never allowed herself to read his mind. She didn't want to invade his privacy, and besides, if he had something to tell her, he would tell her himself. But this time, she couldn't help it, and the following words rang into her head in Yosef's voice:

 _We have to go, we have to go, Yeshuah is in danger, Miryam!_

Immediately she bolted up and took a few goatskins, filling them with some water from the vases. Yosef got to packing as well, lifting his tools, a few small vessels, their cloaks, and a few robes and cloths with them. Levitating them above his head with a hand, he directed the other one to the door, and shutting his eyes in concentration, he opened it wide, before the items in the air started to be shown outside the house.

A baby's crying rang in her mind. Miryam turned around and saw Yeshuah awake, on the verge of tears. She tied up the last of the skins, and then rushed over to Him, cradling Him in her arms. She tried to soothe Him, singing a shaky lullaby in her mind as she cradled Him with one hand and continued to put the bread and the vegetables in a bowl, covering it tightly with a cloth. Then she took up the bowl and got to her feet, seeing most of their necessities out of the darkened house.

 _Yosef,_ she said in her mind, trying to reach out and find a link to his. Just as she said this, something crashed outside, and she went to the door to find her husband standing there, packing the rest of their things, with one of their vessels shattered on the ground.

"I'm sorry," she said, realizing she had probably interrupted his concentration.

"It's fine; we can replace it." He lifted everything up in the air once more, and attached some of the heavier things to their donkey, while he continued to carry the lighter things.

Miryam tied one goatskin to her back, and another to Yosef's. Then she took Yeshuah back from him, and shushed Him, feeling His distress.

 _It's almost as if He knows._

She then looked up at the house one last time, their Bethlehem house of two years – where Yeshuah had learned to speak and walk, where she and her new family had spent so much happy times with her.

"Miryam," Yosef said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's time to go."

Her stare lingered on their now dark and empty house, before she nodded and turned around.


	8. The Massacre and The Flight

**(A/N: Sorry, this is all that I could conjure up for the next chapter. Hopefully inspiration for the next chapter won't be long in coming.)**

* * *

"It has been too long since those Magi have left," King Herod told his soldiers. "They must have tricked me and returned to their own country."

Some of the younger soldiers looked among themselves, concerned at the chilly tone their king had taken. The older soldiers, however, stood straight and listened intently.

"There is a newborn king and I must make sure that this throne belongs to me, as well as to my family," he said. "The Romans gave this crown to me and do the child's parents think I will give it up so easily?" He slammed a fist down on his armrest. "Never!"

The flames in the lamps around them flickered, reacting to the king's emotion. He continued, "Now here is what you must do. Go into Bethlehem and the surrounding areas, and when you see a baby boy two years of age, or even younger..." he trailed off, as if having a sudden jolt of conscience. But he shook his head and went on.

"...You must show them no mercy. Kill them on sight."

"Yes, sir," both younger and older soldiers said, though the youth were not so sure.

* * *

"King Herod's soldiers are coming!" someone called into a window. "They have orders from the king to kill any baby boy they see!"

Barely had the mother heard these words when she heard the whoosh of the wind outside, and she knew that she had to be quick.

The soldier burst into her house, and her husband stood up from his pottery work, asking, "What is your business here?"

"We have orders from the king," the soldier said, his youthful face covered with sweat. He unsheathed his sword. "Do you have any male child that is two years of age?"

"No," the mother said from the other room. Both her husband and the soldier watched as she emerged from the room, holding a small child, about four years of age. The child looked up at them with her large brown eyes, and the soldier seemed to waver in his resolve.

"There is no baby boy here," she said. "Please leave us alone."

The husband looked to the soldier, who sheathed his sword. "I must have been mistaken," he said. "Excuse me." With that he walked out the door, and flew away using the wind.

Once he was gone, the woman fell to her knees, and the four year-old melted away like paint to reveal a month-old baby boy, as well as the Visual pin sitting on the mother's chest.

"That was a close shave," her husband said, coming over to comfort her as she began to cry. "That was...we could have lost Jacob."

"Do not commend me yet, Josiah," the woman said through her tears, and she wiped them away. "Our son is safe, but what about the others?"

Her husband paled. "Naomi, do not tell me you intend to save the others' infants as well?"

"If that is what must be done," Naomi said, handing her child to Josiah. "Do not let anything happen to our little Mechanical, in the meantime." Then she walked to the door, and ran out.

Josiah watched her leave, feeling useless.

* * *

Yosef, Miryam, and Yeshuah were now crossing the desert on the long way to Egypt. They had stopped over at an oasis for a while, to eat their food and drink of the water there.

"We have to ration our food carefully," Yosef said, taking the bread from out of one of their bowls. "Here, Miryam." He handed her some bread and, before she could do it herself, handed a piece as well to Yeshuah. Yeshuah took it in His small hands, looking carefully at Yosef as he put the rest of the bread away. "The vegetables can wait for a while."

Yeshuah then looked down at the bread, and stumbled forward, trying to to hand Yosef the one piece of bread that He had.

 _Doesn't have food,_ Miryam heard Yeshuah think, and she sighed to herself – her Son was so precious.

Yosef noticed what Yeshuah was doing, and sighed as well, though tiredly. He mustered a smile at Yeshuah's actions, and patted Him on the head.

"...I suppose I could eat something, as well," he said, moving the bowl back up to his lap with a wave of his hand. "Just for now."

"You ought to," Miryam chided her husband as Yeshuah plopped Himself back down, sitting up and taking a bite from His bread.

"Yeshuah just seems to know these things, Miryam," Yosef noted, looking down at the Child. Then a wider grin appeared on his face as he took a piece of bread as well. "I think He gets it from you."

"I think he gets that from our God," Miryam replied. She grinned as well. "Though I suppose He gifted me with that trait as well."

"Indeed," Yosef nodded. He ate a morsel, and chewed before swallowing. Then he continued, "What would I do without the both of you?"

Yeshuah looked up at Miryam, and tilted his head, some food still in His mouth.

* * *

The next few days consisted of some events like this, with the added bonus of Yosef, Miryam, and Yeshuah stopping over to seek the hospitality of some nearby towns that they passed. The inhabitants of each town spoke less and less Aramaic, and so Yosef and Miryam had to rely on their rather lacking knowledge of Greek, which thankfully improved throughout their trip.

Yeshuah was being an obedient boy throughout the trip, at least. That didn't stop other people from staring at him – all other Spirituals, Yosef noticed from the shape of their bronze and copper pins. Miryam could hear their thoughts as well; all had something to do with her Son.

"Perhaps it is the same as what happened with the three wise men," Miryam told Yosef as she discussed it one night. "One of them, the Spiritual, cried because of the goodness in Yeshuah."

Yosef chewed on a morsel of bread, before saying, "So why haven't I seen you crying?"

Miryam shrugged. She patted Yeshuah on the head as he ate some vegetables. He looked up at her, and tried to smile with His teeth full of leaves. When His mother saw it, she laughed.

"What? What?" Yosef asked, looking over at the Child, and snorting when he saw it.

The three of them chortled in their little moment of joy, with Yeshuah giggling as if He were sharing in His parents' happiness as well.

The question had slipped from their minds entirely, and wouldn't come back for a long, long time.

* * *

In Israel, Josiah carried his son out of a house, and ran through the streets. He looked around, and the wooden posts of some houses shook. The other people looked out, and knew that a Mechanical was upset.

Josiah continued to run, while his son squirmed in his arms. Their baby opened his eyes and looked up at his father, while Josiah turned a corner and finally found who he was looking for.

"Naomi!" he called, and Naomi turned around to find her husband and her baby there. He came towards her, panting. The quaking of some loose rocks on the ground didn't stop as he did in front of her. "Where have you been?"

"I was saving some baby boys," she explained, and when he moved closer she held up her hands to stop him. "And helping with burying the dead," she added quietly.

"...Oh." Josiah looked from Naomi to some other women who were weeping.

"I couldn't save them all," Naomi noted sadly, "and neither could the other Visuals."

"I am so sorry," Josiah said, holding Jacob close. Now he really felt stupid for bringing his child along.

"You meant well," Naomi acknowledged. Then she said, "Would it be alright with you if we mourn with the other parents?"

"Of course," Josiah said, and went with Naomi.

* * *

Yosef and Miryam's water continued to last until they could get to the next well. Their food supply, on the other hand, only lasted as long as how many Jewish families in their diaspora of the Gentile towns offered them some food for the journey. Since that was a good enough number, Yosef suspected that he should cut his ration so Yeshuah and Miryam could have more.

"You don't have to do that," Miryam said, holding Yeshuah close to her as she walked. Yeshuah didn't make any noises similar to a yes or a no.

"It will be fine," Yosef said, and Miryam noted the colors on his chest, as well as his thoughts that rang through her head:

" _Trust me on this."_

And it was so difficult not to trust Yosef.

"Alright, then," Miryam told him. "Just remember to eat."

* * *

After a few more days of travelling, Yosef, Miryam, and Yeshuah finally reached the Jewish diaspora in Egypt.

* * *

 **(A/N: Please leave a review!)**


	9. Returning to Nazareth

**(A/N: How long has it been since I updated this? I don't even know. School has just been overwhelming me for quite a while now.**

 **And here, we get more glimpses of the people we had left in the fourth chapter!**

 **Not like you guys wanted to, though...)**

* * *

Months passed.

Life in Egypt was indeed different from that in Bethlehem. There was an unfamiliar culture and there were many unfamiliar faces, and at first Miryam and Yosef found themselves at a loss on what to do. They got a room at an inn, and there they would stay until Yosef could find a better home for them.

There was already a thriving carpentry industry in the diaspora, and so Yosef was able to make a living by making farming tools and various furniture. The other Mechanicals took to him quite easily, and found him an amiable companion.

As for Miryam, she was able to go out and meet with the other young Jewish mothers. They had eyed her Spiritual pin with some wariness at first, but after their first meeting they had warmed up to her and her baby Yeshuah considerably.

With these things going for Yosef and Miryam in Egypt, they felt that they could stay for as long as they needed until the danger in Israel had passed.

Months passed, and Yosef had a dream.

* * *

"Good morning, Miryam," Yosef said to Miryam brightly.

"Good...morning?" Miryam put on a smile. "What brings you up so early?"

"I had a dream, Miryam." The Mechanical turned to her. "The angel of the Lord told me that the King of Israel is dead now, and Yeshuah is out of danger."

"Really?" Miryam moved towards him, beginning to look hopeful.

When Yosef nodded, she ran forward and embraced him.

* * *

"You're returning to Israel?"

"Yes, Benjamin," Yosef said. "Miryam and I are planning on leaving before the end of the month. We came here to escape a danger in Israel, but now there isn't anything that can harm us."

"Lucky you are, son of Jacob," Benjamin sighed, continuing to cut planks of wood in half neatly. "I would go to to Israel if I wanted, but my daughter is an Anti-Magic. She faces less trouble here than she does there."

"Really?" Yosef asked. "I never knew."

"It's because of the Gentiles," another artisan named Levi joined in. "We Hebrews living in other countries have been influenced to think that Anti-Magics are to be treated as precious gems, though they are not as blessed as the magic users. Too bad there is a curse upon your family, Benjamin, son of Daniel."

Yosef and Benjamin gave Levi an uncomfortable look. Clearly Levi had never known an Anti-Magic.

"Don't worry about it," Yosef told Benjamin, while he nailed one of Benjamin's planks to one of his. "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Benjamin smiled softly, and went back to work.

"Either way, it'll be hard for you if you move back into Bethlehem." This time Levi looked to Yosef. "Did you hear? Herod's son Archelaus is ruling in his place, and he's been a cruel king so far."

Yosef paused in his work.

"When did you hear this?"

"I heard it from my neighbors, who had just entertained a visiting cousin from Judea," Levi said. "If you're gonna travel back to Israel, better steer clear of him."

Yosef had been listening intently, and now put a hand to his chin. The nail that he had been hammering into a plank suddenly stilled. Benjamin looked to him again, then down at Yosef's work, and sighed.

"Levi, you don't have to give someone something to think about all the time," Benjamin said.

"No, no, Levi's got a point," Yosef said, putting a hand up.

"I always do," Levi smirked.

Benjamin frowned.

* * *

"We have to plan this carefully, Miryam," Yosef said. "Do we really want Yeshuah to grow up in such an environment?"

Miryam glanced at Yosef with her soft eyes, while she carried Yeshuah in her arms. The Child was sleeping soundly, most likely unaware of what His parents were talking about.

"We don't have to stay in Bethlehem if you don't want to, Yosef," she said. "I mean, we can move closer to Elizabeth and Zechariah. Yeshuah can spend more time with his cousin John."

"Yes, and I would like that very much – but that would still be in the jurisdiction of the king Archelaus," Yosef reasoned. "I don't want to hear if the king is doing something outrageous that can potentially endanger our Son." He looked down. "We've already had to live through one."

"Yosef," Miryam bent down to his level. "Kings are men too, and men do outrageous things." She laughed a little. "Wasn't it outrageous when we chose to become parents of the Son of God?"

Yosef's eyes turned back to her, and he couldn't help smiling as well. "Who would ever believe us if we told them?" he asked, and Miryam came closer to him. Husband and wife laughed for a few precious seconds, before the latter looked to the former.

"Well, we don't have to live in Judea," Miryam said. "We can move back to Nazareth. I think our parents would love to see our Son very much."

Yosef's eyes brightened, and Miryam could see the color on his chest turn to a mild yellow. "Yes, yes of course," he said.

Already the Spiritual could hear his mind bustling with activity. What they would pack, which path to take on the way back to Israel, how he would see their food supply through this once again.

But Miryam went back to coddling Yeshuah. Having Yosef's voice in her thoughts was comforting enough.

* * *

It was only a matter of time before Yosef and Miryam started packing for their trip back to Israel.

Of course, the packing wasn't as rushed as it had been when they were going to Egypt. Yosef took more care in arranging many things using his powers, and Miryam could pause to cuddle with her son in the middle of packing.

The few friends that Miryam had managed to make in Egypt were sad to see her leave after months of being with them. They made sure to have their children play with Yeshuah as much as possible while they talked with Miryam.

"Oh, Miryam," one of the women said. "We're going to miss you. You've been such a good neighbor."

"Write us letters, will you?" another one said. "Or at least get your husband to write us letters."

"Don't worry, Yosef will let me write you," Miryam waved a hand. She raised her glass to her lips. "I on the other hand am glad that our husbands were willing to let us gather together here in your house, Deborah."

"I am glad too," Deborah said, her calm features soothing the other girls gathered around her. She was older than all her friends, and had two daughters glancing at Yeshuah and the other mothers' children with curiosity. "Such an opportunity alone can be the work of God within man."

"If only God would show Himself or His Messiah sometime now, though," another one of the women said. "We have waited long enough."

"Chava!" another of the mothers rebuked her. "God will execute His plans when He sees fit!"

"Calm down, girls," Deborah raised a hand, and shushed them gently. "The Lord is in His mighty Heaven whether we believe it or not. For now we must hold on to the hope that His Resolute Messiah will come for us."

"And liberate Israel," Chava added.

Miryam chose to remain silent throughout this part of the discussion, gripping her cup tightly. Her eyes snuck over to Yeshuah, who was shrieking in joy as one of the boys chased Him around.

She then looked back at the other women, as they continued to chat.

"So where will you live, now that you're going back to Israel?" one of the other mothers asked.

"Ah, I was thinking of living in Nazareth," Miryam said. "In Galilee."

"Galilee?" Chava asked. "Didn't you come here from Bethlehem?"

"I did, and Bethlehem is such a lovely place; it's just that..." Miryam wondered how to say it, before deciding to continue, "...Yosef is afraid of what the King Archelaus might do in his kingdom."

"Oh, his fears are justified," said another mother, the wife of Levi. "The man might be a tyrant. What a prudent choice!"

"Better yet, maybe you should stay here with us," Chava interjected. "I care for you Miryam, and your son; you have been living well here, have you not?"

"The point is not where I'm comfortable, my friends," Miryam finally said, "for wherever the Lord wills that I go, I will go."

"Well said, wife of Yosef," Deborah clasped her hands together. "I can't help but think that there is more to you than it seems."

"There is," Miryam said off-handedly, and looked once more at her Son.

Chava pursed her lips, before taking Miryam's hands in hers. "If you need anything from us, let us know," she told Miryam. "We will be happy to help you."

All the other mothers nodded in agreement. Yeshuah seemed to meet His mother's eyes at the same time that she glanced at Him, and once again Miryam could have sworn that He knew.

* * *

The day had come for them to travel back to Israel.

Yosef set the bags on their donkey, with Miryam telling him how much the donkey could take. She had Yosef lift some of the lighter and less fragile things – she didn't want either the donkey or her husband to overexert themselves.

Yeshuah watched everything with curiosity from His place in His mother's arms. He watched how she sorted things for the journey, how she baked the bread for their journey, and whenever He came close to her He watched how she coddled Him with goofy smiles.

Soon, after they bade their friends in Egypt goodbye one last time, they set off on the trail back home.

* * *

Bethlehem was still recovering from the massacre.

Many mothers were still mourning the loss of their sons, walking through life like ghosts without a purpose for staying among the living. Still others tried to get through the day as best as they could.

Josiah and Naomi were two such people. Josiah approved of Naomi's giving of aid and consolation to fellow mothers, but he thought she was overexerting herself – between taking care of the house, a baby boy, and grieving parents, there wasn't much left for her to do, and no time for her to rest besides the Sabbath day.

Naomi would have none of it, of course. She believed that everyone needed all the help they could get, including her son Jacob. And she didn't care how much work she had to do in order for them to have that help.

"But she is a woman," Josiah complained one day. "I have nothing against that, but the others may compel her to keep in her place! And I know that she might need the rest, anyway."

Philip, our innkeeper who had housed Yosef and Miryam, sighed and patted his friend's shoulder. "Are you worried? Let your wife do as she must. Perhaps it is the will of God."

"Oh, it's always the 'will of God' with you!" Josiah waved the cup in his hand. "Does God care about the women?"

"Shush!" Philip put a hand up to quiet Josiah, then looked around to see if anyone else in the inn had heard. When all was clear, he told his companion, "Don't say such things of God! People will think you're blaspheming!"

"Yes, you're right," Josiah said, "but...Naomi...she might get herself hurt, and women do get hurt if left to their own devices. She could wear herself out...what do you do, Philip, if your woman did what Naomi is doing on her own?"

"If you're so concerned, then go with her," Philip advised. "As for me, if Leah were doing that, then I won't get in her way. Especially if she's doing the right thing."

Josiah gave Philip a look, and sighed. He put his cup down. "And of course you aren't concerned that your wife is an Anti-Magic?"

"The same way you aren't concerned that your wife is a Visual." Philip glanced at Josiah with a twinkle in his eye. "Josiah, support Naomi. She knows what she is doing. And do not worry about your child. Who knows, your child will grow up a righteous man because of his mother."

"How would you know?" Josiah asked. "You don't even have children."

Philip blinked, the sides of his mouth falling. The blow had landed.

"...Josiah, please don't turn bitter," Philip said. "Naomi is doing her best. You should too."

Josiah sighed, and turned away from Philip. "I guess, if that's how you put it."

He downed his drink, and then turned towards the door.

* * *

"Do you think we should talk to Jonah...?"

"I don't think so; I'm not good with words."

Baruch laughed a little. "For all your fatherly words towards him, Jeremiah."

"Don't start with me, Baruch." Jeremiah crossed his arms, and then both their eyes fell upon the younger one, the Fire Elemental. Jonah was by himself, burning circles into the grass and scaring the sheep that came nearby.

The three shepherds, who we had seen celebrating the birth of the Messiah almost three years ago, were now at a loss at what to do regarding the elephant in the room.

Baruch gave Jeremiah one more look, and Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

"Go to him, you big floating lug," Baruch smirked.

"I will, you tree dressed in human robes," Jeremiah joked as well, before gathering himself and flying towards Jonah.

Jonah was determinedly staring down at the fire circles, before burning the latest one right in front of the hooves of three sheep, rendering them unable to escape until the fires smoldered, and then they ran.

"...Scaring sheep isn't a very good quality for a shepherd, you know," Jeremiah began. Jonah turned towards him with a surprised face. Then upon registering who it was, Jonah turned back to look straight ahead of him with a frown.

Instantly Jeremiah wished he had bitten his tongue. He glanced towards Baruch. _See, I told you._ But Baruch waved a hand, telling him to go on.

Jeremiah came closer to the younger shepherd. "Jonah..." he said, "...I know how upset you are about your youngest brother..."

Jonah didn't reply at once, and so Jeremiah was about to open his mouth to say more. But then Jonah did talk.

"...That baby boy, the one the angels said was the Messiah," Jonah said. "Do you think He was killed along with the others?" He gave Jeremiah another look, this time one full of sadness. "Along with my brother?"

Jeremiah's eyes softened. "Jonah, I-I don't know."

Jonah turned back, and Jeremiah finally landed back on the ground, walking towards Jonah. He sat down beside the younger man.

Jonah inhaled, and then exhaled. No more fire circles. "I do hope He wasn't. Because then He would be able to exact revenge for all those murdered babies." He grit his teeth together. "For how long, Jeremiah? For how long?"

Footsteps came closer, and Jonah and Jeremiah half expected it to be one of the sheep finally daring to come closer to the Fire Elemental. But then the charred grass in the fire circles began to be overgrown by the greenest of blades, slowly but surely, and Jonah looked up at Baruch, who had positioned himself at his other side.

"Jonah, we do not doubt God's will," Baruch said firmly.

"I wasn't doubting." Jonah replied instantly.

"You sounded as if you thought God wouldn't remember to exact His justice, when our little Messiah would be grown up," Baruch put his hands on his hips. Then he sat down with Jonah and Jeremiah. "But God sees all. He just has to do it at the right time."

"Because God is patient and merciful." Jeremiah added. "Who knows, if our glorious King Archelaus will actually see sense and repent of his and his father's sins!"

Jonah looked at the two men beside him, and looked back down, but this time his mouth broke into a smile. He laughed, and his shoulders shook. Jeremiah and Baruch looked at each other, then at the boy laughing in between them.

"Why? Do you believe it isn't possible?" Baruch asked, though he was smiling as well.

"Maybe," Jonah quipped. "It was just his choice of words..."

Baruch's face made an "Oh!" expression, and then looked at Jeremiah.

"You _are_ good with words, you," Baruch teased.

"Oh, come on." Jeremiah pushed him.

* * *

Yosef, Miryam, and Yeshuah traveled the long road from Egypt to Israel, taking reliable shortcuts wherever they could and enjoying the hospitality of the people living in the various cities. There was enough food this time for their journey so that Yosef didn't have an excuse to cut his rations, and Miryam suspected that this was the reason their Yeshuah seemed jollier than usual during their trip.

After these days, they finally found themselves back in Israel, in the land of Judea. And soon, they entered Bethlehem.

"Hm, the city seems more crowded now," Yosef observed as he led their donkey through the path, with Miryam and Yeshuah sitting atop said donkey.

Miryam scanned the people of Bethlehem, and her features became more pensive. "The city has also become much sadder," she noted, holding Yeshuah closer to herself. It was muted shades of blue and purple that she saw on the chests of people, as if combined with gray.

Yeshuah stared at the people as well, but it wasn't like Miryam was expecting Him, a child, to give any sort of comment. He just stared curiously, and some people stopped and stared yet again.

 _All Spirituals,_ Yosef thought, sensing the contours and edges of their metal pins.

He tried to move on, but then the number of people bustling about in the streets overwhelmed the little family. Yosef had to stop in the town square while Miryam and Yeshuah could finally stretch their legs.

* * *

A visitor entered Naomi's house.

* * *

 **(A/N: And what could this mean for Naomi, as well as for our heroes, I wonder?)**


End file.
